Monday, April 27, 2009

I Have No Style*

(*Sung to the tune of "I have no legs," sung by that guy on the subway in "Kids.")

I have totally been lazy about posting and I'm so sorry! It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Mainly, two HUGE things have happened!

Last Monday was my birthday! 31 years ago I graced the Earth my arrival. I've been going strong ever since.

I never thought I'd have a problem turning 30, and I didn't. Now that I'm 31 I feel I know myself even better and have come to terms with who I am. Mainly:

- I get super nervous before going somewhere or dealing with a situation that is anything outside of my normal routine (new job, doctor appointment, seeing anyone for the first time in ages, etc.). Even thinking about it makes me one anxious lady.

- When I am mad or upset I cannot respond to someone or something immediately. If I do, the chances that I will regret my response is inevitable. Instead, I need to take at least 15 minutes to consider all sides and possible repercussions and calm down. My response is then better thought out and much more level-headed.

- I am an unbelievable softy. Nearly any sentimental or cheesy movie, commercial, story, person - anything - can bring me to tears.

- While I can be a real powerful, professional ball-buster at work, I can be a whimpering, fearful fool in my personal life.

- I have no style.

This last point I bring up because it covers a lot of territory. In terms of personal style, mine has become one of dressing way too much for comfort and not enough for style. Having little style is my style, I guess.

I have great aspirations to dress in one-of-kind, great clothing, looking hip and stylish and classy and creating mass envy among everyone I meet.

But, realistically, I'm lazy and end up at Old Navy buying the same cheap shirts that are cute but really do nothing for me. Ah, whatever. I'll work on that later.

This lack of style carries over to interior decorating.

The first apartment Andy and I had, in Brooklyn, was painted with bright reds and turquoises and had a ton of colorful Ikea furniture. It was exhausting and headache-inducing and I ended up hating everything there.

Then our apartment in Queens was white and plain and cramped with a lot of hand me down furniture. It was comfortable but messy and had no style. Followed no color scheme, incorporated no flow with objects or anything. It was a senseless mish-mash.

I have great, stylish ideas, but I kind of suck when actually making them a reality.

And so, the real reason I bring all this up...

The second HUGE thing that's happened to me...

We've found a house!

It's awesome. We found it last Saturday when looking with my mom and step-father. We found it, made an offer, haggled just a little, signed the papers, and yesterday had the inspection. It looks good.

We close (it's ours) on June 8th.

So, right now I'm obsessing over style. And sofas. And paint. And color palettes. And everything.

Needless to say, that's what I'll be thinking of and writing about for the unforeseeable future (at least until the 8th... and probably for a while after that).


Our lovely contemporary Victorian (contemporary because it was built in 1991) in Easthampton, MA.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Recent Activity In My Oh-So-Riveting Life

Besides watching "The Hills," here's some recent activity in my life:

Andy and I visited my brother, a freshman at George Washington University in D.C., on Easter weekend to see him in a production of "Jesus Christ Superstar." (He was an apostle.) It was a great production (especially the leper scene!) and my bro rocked!

Besides seeing my brother, we also saw my mom and stepfather (who also drove down for the play) and my stepsister, her husband and their two kids. It was great!

The rest of the time was spent:
- Walking around the White House.

- Eating at Logan's Roadhouse and experiencing their amazing rolls!

- Staying at a Hilton for the first time (it was awesome!)

- Lamenting over the very few cherry blossoms that were still on the trees (where we were, at least).

Another exciting thing that happened was... I got my driver's license!
It's true. It's amazing. Seriously, I didn't think it would ever happen. But it did, even though my parallel parking was a little sketchy, and I was extra cautious when taking a left turn. Whatev, I'm officially licensed.

The next day Andy *conveniently* locked his keys in his car, so I had to go pick him up, thus initiating me into the solo driver's club. I wonder how much of that was accident vs. unconscious (or conscious) decision. No matter, it gave me the push I'm sure I needed.

A less-exciting event that took place was I became completely up to date with "The Hills." That show sucked me in like quicksand, and the more I resisted, the more I had to watch for hours a day the goings-on of those people.

I'm trying to take some time back for myself, fighting the urge to jump into "The City." Struggles.

Finally, I'm preparing for this weekend. My mother and Harvey, my stepfather, are meeting us on Saturday in Northampton to do some house-hunting. We're putting a lot of pressure on them because we want a house but have serious fears and doubts about just about everything at this point, and feel like we really need some adult pov's. They are staying the night with us, as is Buster the Westie! Can't wait!

Speaking of being an adult - my birthday is this Monday! 31! Woo hoo!
I've been pretty chill and happy with my 30s thus far, so I'm not too depressed.

I am, however, looking for a good Italian restaurant to go to this Saturday night with the family. If you know any in the Pittsfield/Berkshires area, please let me know!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

I Watch The Hills

I've started watching "The Hills." On MTV.com. All the episodes are there. All 5 seasons - right up to the most recent one.

I started watching "The Hills" last Thursday. Or Wednesday. It's all a blur.

I'm on Season 3, Episode 9. I'd be much further along, except we went to NYC, then DC, then New Paltz this weekend, and didn't get back till Monday evening.

I'd heard about these people - Lauren, Audrina, Heidi, Spencer - and the show, but never had the chance or really the desire to watch.

But now. Now, I've taken up with the watching, and I can't stop. It's addictive.I'm still not completely understanding whether it's reality or not, or why there are voiceovers at times. What's that about?

And that Spencer is awful. And disgusting. If I had to choose, I'd rather spend the rest of my life with the Tick (see previous post) than this guy.

Ticks in Massachusetts!

Yes, it's true - there are ticks, deer ticks, here in Massachusetts! Not only that, it seems there are some right by a house that we are interested in!

Long story short: We like this one house. Before asking the Realtor for a showing, we decided to drive by and take a look. Since it's empty, we parked and walked around the house, peered into the windows (looks good! we'll see it in a week!).

Two days later Andy's sitting in the driver's seat of the car, at a stop sign, reaches down to scratch his leg.

(You get where this is going, right?)

He pulls up the leg of his jeans and there it is - the dreaded bullseye that everyone and anyone who's ever taken a walk in a wooded area has heard about. No doubt about it.

I mean, the tick, the lyme disease, everything makes it so obvious - that red circle looks like it was drawn on with a pen!

(It was disgusting. And terrifying.)

So we rush to the ER, have them take that sucker out, and Andy starts a 3-week long antibiotic fest. Fun. Seems we caught it early enough so everything should (hopefully) be okay.

Remember kids - always check yourself after taking a walk, or walking around, spying into a house.

(Obviously, we've learned our lesson.)


And for those of you who are strong of heart - here's a close up of our little friend. Yuck!











And here's a picture of the brave patient, just because he's so dern cute.

(How can anyone smile with this parasite embedded head first into their body?)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

American Life Today

American Life Today is an awesome website! Go there right away! But read this first!

I can't remember if I'd posted anything about the site in the past, but I discovered it a while back and sent in my info, never thinking I'd actually show up on it. But I DID! TODAY!

Go to American Life Today and read about me (you know you'll jump at any chance to get more), and the woman behind the site. It's very cool, and not just because I'm the interview for today!

Yea!!

House Hunting in Western Massachusetts

We are still at the house hunting phase in our relocation to Western Massachusetts process.

We are looking for a home in the Pioneer Valley, specifically Northampton, Hadley or Southampton.

At this point we have actually made offers on two houses. The first was way out of our price range, but the seller's agent said the sellers were very motivated and we should not hesitate to "throw out a number!" So we did, expecting nothing. And we got nothing. The sellers responded by saying they weren't going to respond to such a low number. How rude! (Yes, I hear Stephanie Tanner from "Full House," too.)

The second house we made an offer on was very cute, also at the very top of our price range, and the best house we'd seen that particular day. But, really, in hindsight, we acted way too hastily. We put the offer in, discovered we were dealing with house flippers who started haggling over weird things and acting a bit shady. They rejected our final offer, and then called two days later saying they accepted it.

After that we started realizing that the house was really small, AND we'd go broke having to fix the things that needed fixin', considering the price we were paying for the house was so high. So, ultimately, we backed out of the sale.

Now we are searching again. We've walked through nearly 20 houses at this point. I wonder now if we are going to be one of those couples who is unrealistic in our search, or end up seeing 100 houses before finding "the one."

We also have been a little disappointed because we haven't seen as many of the houses in the style that we'd prefer - colonial or farmhouse.
We've seen some, and a lot need updating or renovations, which we're totally fine with, but they are already nearing the top of our price range, so that doesn't leave much money for those renovations.

We'll see what happens. We're on a little break right now, mainly because we are going away this weekend, Andy's weekend off, so we won't be seeing houses till April 25th, when my mom and step-father come up to visit from NYC.

I'll let you know what happens!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Colin Firth Is A God

Okay, well that might be pushing it, but Colin Firth IS great. In case I hadn't made that clear recently.

After my early morning post today, I happened to find this nice little piece about the lovely Mr. Darcy (er, Firth) starring in the upcoming film of "Dorian Gray" - one of my all time favorite books.

Nice.

What Is This World Coming To?

I can tolerate a lot. But not this.

I just stumbled on an old survey posted on Pop Sugar UK, asking readers who their favorite Mr. Darcy is from movie adaptations of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" -
Colin Firth from the BBC production; Matthew Macfadyen in the film with Keira Knightly; or Elliot Cowan in an ITV version.

Anyone who knows me knows that I own the BBC version of P&P and watch it several times a year. At least. For me, there is only one Mr. Darcy, and that's Colin Firth. You can't beat a man like that in a role like that.

But, apparently the readers of Pop Sugar UK disagree - Matthew Macfadyen came in on top at 50%, followed by my fave, Colin Firth at 35% and the other guy at 14%.

I just don't understand. Are the readers younger, and can't get into the idea of now-slightly-older Colin? Have they not seen the BBC version? Are they just younger and stupider? I don't get it. It really makes me nervous about the future of our world, particularly regarding pop culture, which is something I hold very closely to my heart.

I think the only way to get out of the funk of disbelief is to go watch my Mr. Darcy. NOW.

Who is YOUR favorite Mr. Darcy? (And if it's anyone but Colin Firth, explain why - please! educate me!)

(For my (and nearly every other woman's) favorite clip, click here.)